Portland Neighbors Help Put “Prolific” Burglar Behind Bars

For neighbors in the Eastmoreland neighborhood in Portland, a regular afternoon quickly became everything but when a burglar was spotted on their streets.

One neighbor, Caitlin Magbee, was working from home that afternoon when her phone pinged. It was an Urgent Alert from Nextdoor with a warning from another neighbor: someone had hopped the fence and was in a neighbor’s backyard.

“We’d had quite a few of these incidents lately,” Caitlin remembered. “It put us all on high alert.”

Another neighbor shared surveillance footage of a burglar who had tripped the motion-sensing camera in her backyard. She’d called the police before posting to Nextdoor to warn her neighbors.

Within moments, neighbors had tracked the burglar down and posted updates about his location.

“And then eventually, this guy went down about eight houses and was hiding under some hydrangeas in our neighbor’s backyard,” another neighbor shared. “That’s where police arrested him.”

Word spread quickly on Nextdoor – neighbors were relieved.

“I was hoping they would finally catch this guy because he’s been doing this for months,” said another neighbor.

As for Caitlin, she’s thankful that technology like Nextdoor can galvanize her neighbors.

“When something like this happens, it’s nice to see everyone come together, mobilize, and help each other out.”